FEMA Works to Mitigate Damage to Natural, Cultural Resources

BATON ROUGE, La. – Natural beauty, history and culture don’t immediately come to mind when people think of FEMA, but the agency’s disaster recovery efforts may affect natural and cultural resources.

Following August’s unprecedented flooding in Louisiana, FEMA’s Office of Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation has been working to ensure the state’s rich natural and cultural resources are taken into consideration as it recovers. EHP routinely evaluates impacts to historic structures, archaeological resources, wetlands, floodplains, threatened or endangered species, and air/water quality.

FEMA EHP provides the technical expertise to ensure legal compliance and informed decision making for the agency and the local community undergoing recovery. Compliance with laws and regulations ensures recovery efforts that affect resources are understood and avoided, minimized, or mitigated where possible. Several laws that EHP routinely complies with include the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act. In carrying out their duties, EHP collaborates with resource agencies such as the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Division.

For more information about FEMA’s work, visit FEMA online at www.fema.gov, www.facebook.com/fema, www.twitter.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.

Original author: sylvia.obear
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